Men's Basketball: Tigers win share of Ivy League title

PHILADELPHIA — After seven years, Princeton is back at the top of the Ivy League.

At times on Tuesday night, the men’s basketball team’s dream appeared to be slipping away. Penn went on a 23-4 run midway through the game and led by four points at halftime, extending the lead in the minutes after the break. But the Tigers (24-6 overall, 12-2 Ivy League) did not miss in the second half, storming back for a 70-58 victory over Penn (13-15, 7-7) and earning a share of the conference title.

“I am loving this moment,” senior guard and tri-captain Dan Mavraides said after the game. “We’re Ivy League champions; we’re putting our names on that banner. That’s been our goal since we came here four years ago.”

Princeton and Harvard, the Ivy League co-champions, will play a one-game playoff on Saturday for the right to receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time since 2002, the conference championship was not decided heading into the final game. Despite a Penn student section that was weakened due to the school’s spring break, the energy in the stadium was palpable from the opening tip, as every spectator and player knew exactly what was at stake in the rivalry game.

The Tigers came out with a strong defense, allowing only one field goal in the first six minutes. Meanwhile, Mavraides received a kick-out with no defender in sight, took two seconds to set himself and rattled home a three-pointer to put the Tigers up 9-2.

The senior’s three-pointer set off a barrage of outside shots for the visitors against Penn’s zone, as junior guard Douglas Davis sank his second triple of the game and sophomore forward Mack Darrow sank one from near the bleachers, giving the Tigers a 15-4 advantage midway through the first half.

But the Quakers answered with six straight points in the paint, including a pair of fantastic drives by guard Miles Cartwright. Moments later, a high-arcing three-pointer from guard Tyler Bernardini — who sank a triple to send the teams' first meeting to overtime — brought the hosts within one point.

Penn put the ball in Cartwright’s hands late in the half, playing star guard Zach Rosen off the play. The strategy paid off at the four-minute mark when Rosen drilled a corner three-pointer under pressure to put the Quakers ahead, 21-19.

Neither team scored for more than three minutes until Cartwright found forward Jack Eggleston on the staple of the Princeton offense, a backdoor cut. Eggleston slammed it home, capping a 19-4 run and sending the Quakers into the break up by four points.

Princeton, which shot just 28 percent in the first half, scored only four points in the final 11 minutes and none in the final five.

Momentum stayed with the Quakers out of the locker room, as Eggleston scored on an emphatic dunk and a tip-in. Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson ’97 called a timeout and was more animated than usual in the huddle with the season on the line.

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“He was getting into us,” Mavraides said of the timeout. “We were getting away from what we had done this entire season — stay together, stick to our defensive principles. He told us, we have to show the whole stadium who wants it more.”

The Tigers’ frontcourt propelled their comeback. Senior forward Kareem Maddox, who attempted only three shots in the first half, hit a short jumper in the lane and then found sophomore forward Ian Hummer cutting for a backdoor layup. Seconds later, Hummer was fouled intentionally on a fast break. He made both free throws and Maddox scored on the ensuing play, a four-point possession that tied the game at 27.

The Quakers pulled ahead again, but Mavraides answered with a triple from the left wing to again knot the score. With the game still tied minutes later, Maddox hit a floater and freshman point guard T.J. Bray grabbed a long rebound, dodged two defenders at the basket and finished to extend the lead to four points.

The teams traded two-pointers until Davis kicked to junior forward Patrick Saunders, who released a three-pointer under pressure from the left corner. The ball dropped through the hoop, bringing the bench to its feet and onto the floor with excitement as Penn called timeout.

The Tigers then broke the game open the same way they had in the first half, taking and making bombs from beyond the arc. Davis drilled a three from the right side to extend the lead to double digits. On the next possession, he kicked to Saunders in the corner for another three that hit nothing but net, capping an 11-0 Princeton run.

“[Assistant coach] Brian Earl said to me in the coaches’ huddle, the guys just have to play harder,” Johnson said. “When you play fearless, the ball just seems to go in.”

Penn’s offense recovered but could not catch the Tigers, who shot a blistering 78 percent in the second half — including three of four from beyond the arc — for 51 points in the period. Hummer made all four of his attempts after going just one-for-six in the opening frame, while Maddox scored 21 of his game-high 23 points after halftime.

“People came up to me at halftime and told me to be more aggressive,” Maddox said. “I hadn’t realized that I wasn’t being as aggressive as I normally am, so when the coaches and players told me that, it made a difference.”

“Maddox is tough to guard, and I think he did not want his season to end tonight,” Penn head coach Jerome Allen said.

With just over one minute left, Cartwright brought the crowd to its feet with a driving dunk over sophomore forward Will Barrett plus a foul, bringing the hosts within seven points. But they got no closer, as Princeton made its free throws and closed out the game successfully. After Mavraides hit two foul shots and Bernardini missed a long three with 30 seconds to play, the Quakers decided not to extend the game, letting the hosts run out the clock.

Johnson embraced his coaches during the final possession while the players on the bench waited to rush their teammates at the final horn.

“I’ve dreamed about this moment since the day I arrived in Princeton,” Johnson said. “There’s a banner in Jadwin [Gymnasium] that says 2004, and then there’s a drought there. I wanted my players to have the experience that I had, and I’ve dreamed and dreamed about it, and now they have it and I couldn’t be happier. There’s not much more to do than hug and cry like a baby.”

Each team committed 10 turnovers in the first half, but the sides combined for just six in the second, which was well-played by both teams.

The Tigers now have 26 Ivy League titles, one more than Penn for the conference lead.

The one-game playoff will serve as a rubber match for Princeton and Harvard. The Tigers won the first meeting at Jadwin 65-61, but the Crimson earned revenge on March 5 with a 79-67 victory. Princeton’s last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2004, while Harvard has not reached the tournament since 1946.

The playoff will be held at Yale’s John J. Lee Amphitheater at 4 p.m. on Saturday.